3DO Magazine Issue 1
Issue 1 was cover-dated Winter 1994 and cost £4.99. A cover CD (3DO Interactive Sampler) was attached. Contents 005.jpg Regulars Contents - 1 page (5) Subscribe - 1 page (27) Competition: Win a 3DO & World Cup Golf - 1 page (63) Coming Soon - Stuart Wynne - 2 pages (65-66) :The world of 3DO software just keeps expanding. Below is a list of the titles already announced, but there's many more in development across the world, including several EA titles already in production for the M2 upgrade. News Page 6 *3DO Strikes Gold: Goldstar producing their own 3DO system to rival Panasonic's *Pearson Go For Blood: SSI and Atreid Concept join Mindscape under Pearson Group umbrella *Century FIFA: FIFA becomes 3DO's 100th game. *Wyllie Promotions: Special club for 3DO owners from Fodor-Wyllie *Demolition Job: Demolition Man from Virgin Page 7 *Whole New World: Editorial *The Art of Doom: Doom and Doom 2 to be converted by Art Data Interactive *Hell is 3DO: Hell featuring Dennis Hopper from Gametek/Take Two Features PC 3DO? - 1 page (8) :3DO's ambitions for creating a world standard for interactive entertainment are perfectly encapsulated by the 3DO Blaster card. According to Creative Labs, it's the future of PC gaming. By Stuart Wynne Interview: Trip Hawkins: Interactive Messiah? - 1 page (11) :Since stepping down from heading EA in December 1990, 3DO CEO Trip Hawkins has been working to produce not just the first 'superconsole', but also establishing a worldwide standard for interactive hardware. Stuart Wynne asked him about progress so far. Interview: R J Mical: Architect of the Future - 1 page (12) :RJ Mical is one of the most influential men in videogaming history. Working with David Needle, he's designed a revolutionary computer, handheld and most recently, the 3DO system itself. Currently he's hard at work engineering 3DO's next step. Interview: Richard Marmoy: Getting REAL in the UK - 1 page (13) :For the past year, Richard Marmoy has been masterminding the UK campaign to get a 3DO into your home. Panasonic's REAL branded 3DO system, the FZ-1, has a predominant role in the UK market likely to last well into 1995. Stuart Wynne asked him about his plans for the future. Inside 3DO - 3 pages (14-16) :The 3DO system isn't simply another games console, it's an ambitious attempt to define a worldwide standard for interactive technology backed by some of the world's biggest corporations. We review its history, the inside story on its technology and look ahead to the coming peripherals. By Stuart Wynne Return of the Jedi with Wing Commander III - 3 pages (17-19) :The Wing Commander series has become one of the biggest money-spinners in gaming history. Marrying classic 3D space combat to a space opera storyline, it's a Star Wars-inspired videogame now grown so big it can hire Luke Skywalker to play its leading role. By Stuart Wynne Crystal Dynamics: Gamers Extraordinaire - 2 pages (22-23) :Most new companies start slowly and cautiously. Crystal Dynamics is different. 'Without Crystal Dynamics, 3DO is just an expensive toy' is the tagline on their ads, a typically self-confident claim by a company which regards its employees as the 'best and the brightest'. To find out the truth behind the hype, Stuart Wynne spoke to International VP Rob Dyer and Chief Scientist Dr David Kirk Even Better Than The Real Thing? - 2 pages (24-25) :After its star turn in Schwarzenegger's True Lies, the Harrier jumpjet is about to make its first appearance on the 3DO system. Deep in development in San Mateo, California, Flying Nightmares is set to be one of the best flight sims on any machine, let alone a console. Stuart Wynne talked to Domark VP John Kavanagh about it. Reviews 3DO Magazine Ratings: ***** - Highly Recommended, **** - Generally Excellent, *** - Very Good, ** - Average, * - Poor The Need for Speed :Without doubt, Need For Speed is going to sell zillions of 3DO systems. It's a game which, even when you've beaten every car on every course, you'll come back to simply to relax, just like cruising a real car down the highway. Given its amazing addictivity, even three huge, multi-stage courses aren't enough, but data disks and a full blown sequel are quite inevitable. In the meantime anyone who's got any interest at all in real cars simply can't miss this one. Theme Park :Overall, Theme Park is a game suitable for players of all ages. The lower difficulty levels can get quite boring after a prolonged period of play, but they are ideal as training grounds for the full game. Constantly improving your park and keeping its customers happy is an addictive formula but this can wear off in time unless you get more involved with the business side of the game. Brain dead arcade fans should be warned the business really can be quite complex, but most people will find building their own Theme Park as compulsive as visiting anyone else's! Samurai Shodown :Crystal's one innovation is a welcome save game option, making for a generally superb 3DO experience. If you are fed up with the likes of the SFII series, and want something that looks and plays completely different, then this is well worth considering.. Rise of the Robots :Overall, this is a very Hollywood-style production which wipes the floor with any of its competiton in the presentation stakes. Strip out the graphics and you'd have a rather unexceptional game, but with them you've got a ground-breaking hype monster. If the idea appeals, the 3DO version is faster, slicker and more playable than any other version of this highly acclaimed mega-game and well worth buying. Way of the Warrior :In terms of presentation, Warrior ''is certainly a better showcase of the 3DO system than ''SFIIX; besides smooth screen scaling to keep the characters always in view, there's some absolutely stunning guardian monsters (which a cheat lets you control). Newcomers to beat-'em-ups will probably have great fun with it initially, but for true beat-'em-up fans Warrior ''is essentially a weak ''MKII ''clone with no guts or personality of its own. FIFA International Soccer :Rage's faster-running ''Striker ''is still in with a chance for the cup, but in the meantime ''FIFA ''gives the 3DO system another genre classic which is essential for any footie fan. Moreover, if you've got five pals and (more problematically) five joypads then the six-player game is pretty much unmissable as well. John Madden Football :Despite stiff competition, this remains the most impressive game I've ever seen, on anything anywhere. Whilst single player games don't offer quite as much excitement as the extraordinary two-player matches, this is still an unmissable piece of software. Super Street Fighter II X :Years of constant development has not only retained that incredible playability, but added an incredible number of moves per character - the possibilities for combination move attacks are almost endless. If you're serious about beat-'em-ups, or just want to see what the best is like, then SSFIIX is pretty much unmissable. Alone in the Dark :So despite being a drearily unimaginative conversion, the strength of the original game makes it still well worth a look. While PC owners will see no reason to trouble themselves with it, others will find much to delight (and terrify) themselves with here particularly as the official, PAL release will be full screen. Now if Infogrames cut to the chase with a souped up ''Alone In The Dark III, everyone will really have something to look forward to. World Cup Golf :Overall it's the fine detail, the incredible variety of options, that will get golf fans queuing up for World Cup Golf. There's no less than 72 national teams to compete against, equipped with some very tough, smart computer-controlled players. Non-fans might be less forgiving of the sluggishness when you hit the ball, but golf is never going to appeal to arcade fans and with PGA Golf still some way off this is bound to do well. Off-World Interceptor :Overall Off-World Interceptor is a classic arcade game, with simple objectives, seductive visuals and sonics (the music is up to Crystal Dynamics usual high standards) and gameplay that is simply joyful. Inconceivable on any other machine, this is outstanding stuff, and with a brilliant two-player game, quite unmissable. Road Rash :Overall, this is pretty much your definitive EA game: arcade-style instant addiction married to home computer style depth and long-term challenge. Shock Wave :As you might expect of a development team called New Technologies Group, Shock Wave is ultimately more interesting for its slick coding than its unremarkable gameplay. If you want a blast, it's challenging enough. If you want more, then the planned data disk better have some major improvements. Super Wing Commander :The gameplay of Wing Commander helps see off superficially flashier games such as Shock Wave. With Wing Commander III already rushing toward completion, sci-fi fans shouldn't miss catching up on the storyline with episode one! The Horde :Overall, The Horde is a near-perfect blend of arcade action and compulsive strategy. There's probably not enough levels and there is some slowdown on the arcade sections, but it's certainly kept me playing for days (and nights) on end. Heartily recommended! Slayer :Avid D&Ders will delight at the amount of game in the package and neutrals will be pleasantly surprised by its accessibility. Recommended. Another World :This conversion, despite being handled by Americans, is very faithful to the original. Rather than slapping on some garish new sprites, Interplay have kept to the original look but recoloured it with a rich 256 colour palette. It obviously doesn't push the 3DO system in the way Gex ''does, but such a stylish conversion of a 16bit classic is still more than welcome on the new generation. The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes :The story also appears to be quite intriguing, despite the dubious Ripper opening, and Holmes is of course a truly great character. While more advanced adventures linger in development, the Holmes war-horse provides a still serviceable challenge in the meantime. Powers Kingdom :All this is great fun, but ultimately there's something a bit too methodical about it. The ability to save at any time removes a lot of the challenge and the game doesn't change all that much, apart from new tactics for new monsters. Nevertheless, it's very addictive, very unusual and well worth a look. Star Control II :Sure, the entire game engine should've been reworked for the 3DO multiplayer but that would take years and in the meantime 3DO system owners have a very slick, classic game to while away a great many late nights. Waialae Country Club :Whilst the slick visuals would probably entice more novices than ''World Cup, this is no bad thing. The World Cup title does offer a more sophisticated and challenging game, but this looks much more fun and plays very well indeed, with slightly faster disc accessing making play immediately more accessible. Despite both games' merits, however, the killer golfing game is still to come, and probably from Electronic Arts. Escape from Monster Manor :The game as a whole is very much an atmosphere piece. If the idea of wandering around a haunted house appeals, there's plenty enough challenge on offer and later levels offers some spooky surprises. It moves fast enough (perhaps too fast), there's plenty to shoot and plenty of neat effects but gameplay is itself a rather ghostly factor in this unremarkable gothic zap-'em-up. Mega Race :The graphics which cause bystanders' jaws to drop matter little when you're actually playing, tightly focused on a fast-moving but ultimately simplistic and repetitive game. There's plenty of power-ups and the overall plot all helps make it very worthwhile, indeed if you want to amaze neighbours or simply give the old peepers a treat, MegaRace is undoubtedly a gorgeous confection. Just don't expect the gameplay to match the superb audio-visuals. Total Eclipse : There's a wide range of power-up weapons and at the end of each planet there's your regulation, humongous mega-guardian. These can take ages to kill, but this is a relatively small price to pay for one of the smoothest, slickest shoot-'em-ups yet seen, inside or outside an arcade. It's what your 3DO system was made for. Burning Soldier : Competing for high scores is fairly good fun in the simultaneous two-player mode, but overall this oddity's main appeal is probably to Manga fans. Dragon's Lair : Some people would argue whether it's really a game at all, but on the other hand there are quite a few diehard fanatics who love the graphics and find honing their reactions for maximum high scores irresistible. For these people, at least, this slick conversion (with infinite continues for beginners) will be a welcome chance to rescue Princess Daphne one last time. Sewer Shark :The storyline is also overly simplistic with the main plot twist revealed far too early and easily. Shock Wave easily overshadows it in this, as well as gameplay and technological flair. Night Trap :This is a rather sad example of just how uninteractive 'interactive' movies can be and is an unfortunate distraction from more imaginative visions of future gaming such as Demolition Man. Pataank :And whilst the tables present are brilliantly designed, there isn't really enough to satisfy for long, the small size of the game adding to the feeling that PaTaank is more of an experiment than a fully fledged game in its own right. Nevertheless, it's an excellent showcase for both the technical ability of the 3DO system and the superb visual artists at P.F. Magic. Expect cult success. Real Pinball :The potential for a truly spectacular pinball game on the 3DO system is vast, but this doesn't come close and is easily eclipsed even by Kirby's Pinball on the GameBoy. Gridders :Overall, despite all it's efforts I'm afraid this is another puzzler unlikely to break out of its ghetto making for that classic puzzler finishing line: it's okay and if you like this sort of thing, you'll probably like this. Battle Chess :Battle Chess is competent and entertaining but far from an inspired conversion. Twisted :Played solo, Twisted ''is a real mindbender and plenty of fun, but it only really comes into its own with plenty of people crowded around, jostling for position and mocking/applauding each other's efforts. Without them the various challenges can get a bit repetitive, while the various trivia questions are unduly irksome due to their American bias. Nevertheless this is an intriguing game and a great party piece. Soccer Kid :As you progress the levels do get markedly more imaginative and challenging, but this isn't the game to wow your mates with. What it is is a remarkably playable and enjoyable platformer. Adverts '''Games' *Road Rash, The Need for Speed, FIFA International Soccer - Electronic Arts - 2 pages (2-3) *Station Invasion - The 3DO Company - 1 page (4) *Virtuoso - Elite - 1 page (9) *Soccer Kid - Krisalis - 1 page (10) *3DO: No Limits - 2 pages (20-21) *Gridders - The 3DO Company - 1 page (26) *Total Eclipse, The Horde, Off-World Interceptor, Star Control II, PaTaank - Crystal Dynamics - 1 page (68) Magazines *PC Power Issue 12 - 1 page (28) Other Credits Designer :Mark Wynne Writers :Stuart Wynne, Mark Wynne Contributors :Ryan Butt, Dino Boni Publisher :Richard Monteiro Issue Index Category:Contains 3DO Reviews